Nothing More
by itsVKEE
Summary: Blood blossomed across Cloud's chest like a rose, stemming from his heart. He fell forward... and knew nothing more. A tale of how Cloud and Tifa met... Alternate Universe, finally updated.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, FFVII, or any others affiliated with it. **

**Nothing More- A prologue**

"Run Cloud!" Zack cried.

His blonde companion only heard the rapid pounding of his heart as his lungs screamed for oxygen, and his legs ached for rest.

There was a sudden, blinding flash and an echoing boom.

Cloud stumbled forward.

His blood blossomed across his shirt, stemming from his heart.

The world faded away from his senses…

And he knew nothing more.

**This is only a glimpse of what happens- if you want to know how it all began and the pairings, please review, and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 1

Nothing More

Chapter 1

A young man with blonde spiky hair leaned nonchalantly in the dim alleyway. He wore dark clothes that made his pale blue eyes stand out in the scant beams of moonlight. He seemed to have not a care in the world, with limitless patience, for he was still, seemingly relaxed.

A young woman, around his age, walked past briskly. Her skirt was long and flowing, her nails were manicured- her chestnut hair perfect. She could not look more out of place in that dark alley.

She was joined by the man, who fell into step with her.

"Don't say anything until I say so." He whispered in her ear. "You were followed here."

His companion tried to look back, but he stopped her firmly.

"Keep walking." He said, and they quickened their pace, her heels clicking loudly. Behind them, the shadows stirred and moved silently in the darkness.

As the pair neared the main street, shots were fired, and both the man and the woman took this as a signal to begin running.

"What now, genius?" she muttered.

He smirked at her.

"Plan B." he placed his hand on her elbow as they ran down the street, pushing past couples who walked hand in hand, enjoying the festival. They turned sharply, and he kicked down a door, and found themselves in a club.

"Come on," he said brusquely, tugging her into the men's bathroom.

"Oh great." She sighed. "This is really hygienic."

"I don't care." He snapped, and the other woman flinched. "Do you have the package?"

"Here."

A small black case was exchanged, and he put it in his pocket.

"They've followed us in, and now you have to leave- you have to look them in the eye, or they will follow you again."

"I am an agent, too, you know."

He smirked yet again, taking a knife and cutting the sleeves of her shirt, revealed her arms, leaving the remnants to hang from the shoulders, like dark ribbons and tore away the bottom ten centimetres of the dark shirt to reveal her midriff.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"Getting you out of here."

Kneeling, he slashed at the hem of her sequined skirt, shortening the several layers until they were jagged. He removed the hairpin from her bun and tousled her wavy hair, and pushed her out of the room, as another man with a bright blue spiky hair entered it. He took one look at the other occupant and threw him the wig, and swapped outer garments.

"Good luck, Cloud."

"Thanks, Zack."

Cloud left the room, blending in with the crowd as he watched his followers barge into the club and into the room he had just been in, finding nothing, and leaving; the young woman already gone. He sighed, and walked out, got on his motorbike and drove away.

------

"Cloud Strife, you have been brought before this council, charged with harming and intimidating a fellow agent, along with sexual harassment." The stern judge looked down at the blonde, who glanced at the chestnut haired woman who sat at the table a few metres away. "Do you have anything to say in your defence?"

"Not particularly." He sighed. "If she's an agent, she would have understood the circumstances- we were being _followed _and that could have jeopardised the entire mission! Everything has to be sacrificed to ensure the success of a mission, even if it is a small amount of dignity, and an expensive skirt."

"Then how do you explain the broken arm? The twisted ankle?" The judge was given pictorial evidence, and Cloud grimaced.

"This is unbelievable!" he said, but the judge shouted over him.

"Never, in my years as an agent, have I ever seen such insolence as I have seen in you, Agent Strife! You have a disregard for all rules, and never respect authority- and take it upon yourself to order others around, regardless of rank! These past eighteen months, you have shown a dramatic decrease in the quality of your work and barely ever turn up to the office on time. This incident is the last straw." The judge paused to glare at him. "You are hereby stripped of your title, rank and position of the Midgar Intelligence Agency and must turn in your gun and badge immediately."

Cloud stood, casting a cool look upon the bringer of his downfall- the chestnut haired woman he only knew as Jasmine- he'd heard some things about her before, but hadn't paid attention to the scope of her act.

He threw his gun and badge down onto the table and left the room without a look or word to anyone else.

------

He sat at the bar, glaring down the small glass before him. Zack joined him a moment later.

"So I'm guessing you heard, right?" Cloud glanced at his friend.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." Zack patted his companion sympathetically on the back as he ordered a drink. "So have you thought about what you're going to do now?"

Cloud shrugged.

"No," he said. "Not really. So here's to getting fired."

He paused to raise the glass mockingly, and downed the drink which burned its way down his throat just like the last.

"Are you staying with the agency?" Cloud asked after a moment.

"What else can I do? The police are corrupt, and get no recognition and being a bodyguard isn't all that exciting." Zack smiled.

"Well, you're going to get bored without me there, even if you do like your shining pedestal- the hero in everyone's eyes." Cloud smirked. "especially Marie, Jessica, Renee, Lena and … who else was it? Alanna?"

"Elaine." Zack corrected. "And what's it to you? When was the last time you seriously saw a girl?"

Cloud was silent.

"I have got to find you a girlfriend." Zack retorted.

"Yeah, whatever. Good luck with that." Cloud snorted and stood. "I'm going to call it a night, and go home, my friend. Try not to break that girl's heart over there- the one by the jukebox."

"Who, her?" Zack casually stretched and glanced at the woman standing by the jukebox. She had short black hair, and dark eyes that twinkled mischievously.

"Goodnight, Zack." Cloud said loudly from the door as Zack stood and walked over to her.

He was turning the ignition a minute later when Zack was thrown from the top of the stairs, the jet black haired woman smiling smugly from the doorway, wiping her hands on the back of her shorts.

Cloud smirked.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Her name is Yuffie… and I think she just broke something of mine." He coughed and rolled over as Yuffie retreated into the darkness of the smoky room.

"And here I was, thinking I'd never see the day when Zack would never meet his match in a woman." Cloud looked up at the darkening sky. "Thank you."

Zack chuckled, and then groaned.

Cloud shook his head and drove off into the night. He was finally free.

**For all those wanting to know, the epilogue takes place a few chapters on, but it's a pivotal moment, so I decided to put it first. You'll have to wait for the next couple of chapters until that happens, so please review because it motivates me to write more. **

**-Yuri Osamu**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Cloud arrived at his apartment, his steps sure footed yet silent. The door was open, and Cloud sneered, walking right into his home.

"It's a bit late, don't you think?" a feminine voice said as Cloud casually shut the door behind him.

"Well, of all the places, Jasmine, I'd never thought I'd find you here."

"Shut up."

"Thanks for getting me fired today," he said, turning to her. She was sitting in the one and only armchair in the house, beneath a halogen lamp.

"Anytime." She said, standing. "You start tomorrow, and don't be late because the Director won't like that." She brushed past him, handing him a small business card and another with a magnetic strip on the back.

She smiled, and met his eyes.

"And wear something black… it suits you…" She whispered as her eyelids fluttered.

"Jasmine," Cloud said, pausing. "That twisted ankle thing took it a bit far."

"Thanks for ruining the atmosphere."

"What atmosphere? Did you mean the one where you were trying to make a move on me?"

Jasmine blushed.

"Okay, goodnight Cloud," she said, showing herself out.

Cloud slammed the door shut and locked it. Sighing, he turned around, and saw a black leather hand bag. Picking it up, he turned and opened the door again, to see Jasmine standing there.

"Oh," she said. "I was going to come back and get it."

"Yeah," he said. "Whatever you say. Are you sure you didn't leave anything else? Keys?"

She blushed again, murmuring another good night, and left.

Cloud sighed, and turned the cards in his hands. Tapping them against his palm, he slipped them in his wallet and went to sleep shortly after.

------

Cloud approached the inconspicuous building in the eastern district of Midgar- it was still the business area, but it was not as busy, and well known.

Spotting the payphone, he dialled four numbers and waited until the count of three, and hung up, then walked to the 34th door on the left, turned in and swiped the card at the blackened glass door while placing his hand on a small panel beneath it. It opened with a hiss and he stepped into a completely pitch black room save for one glowing square in the middle. Standing on it, the room flashed white, blue then red, quite vividly, and a door opened at the far side of the room. Once he walked through, there was an impressive corridor with hidden ceiling lights- it was composed of black and white marble that created a stark contrast, imprinting their design into his mind. At the end of this corridor, there was a silhouette of a young woman- he recognised her as Jasmine.

"I see you got here alright." She smiled. "Wearing black, I see."

"…"

"Never mind. Here, we're starting a briefing in a few minutes, and you need to meet the Director of the ISO U3."

"ISO U3?" he repeated.

"Intelligence and Special Operations Unit 3. We're the only unit, though- I don't know why there's a three at the end."

"So who's the director?"

"You'd be surprised."

They walked through the open plan office- everything was white and glass and metal, and the hum of conversation was, as yet, absent. The desk agents looked up and nudged each other, and stared openly at the pair. They walked to one of three offices in the building, and the glass panels slid back to reveal a steel grey desk with a computer on it, and paperwork neatly aligned. A black leather chair with its back facing him contained, obviously, the director, who was none other than…

"Zack?" Cloud said in disbelief as the chair swivelled around.

"That will be all, Jasmine." She turned, and the doors shut behind her, the glass tinting immediately until they were black.

"Of all the people, Zack- I never thought it would be you."

Zack grinned.

"What's the story behind ISO U3?"  
Zack shrugged.

"I didn't come up with it. It was formed three years ago by Midgar Intel to perform covert missions which were not associated with them as their main body. We take care of the jobs like assassination, espionage-"

"So it's just a cover so that we have clearance to do all of the dirty work that Midgar Intel don't want to do?"

Zack sighed and nodded. "In a way, I guess so." He glanced at the digital clock on his desk, and stood. "We have to get to a meeting now."

"Meeting?" Cloud echoed. "For what?"

"Your first mission."

----

The meeting room was very similar to Zack's office- with the exception of one thing- one wall was comprised of LCD screens, and the circular table in the centre of the room had panels on them for both viewing and scanning.

Seated around the table were Jasmine, and a few other ex agents who had quit a year ago- Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine and Barret Wallace.

"Cloud Strife?" Cid asked, standing up.

"Cid," Cloud replied, shaking his hand.

Everyone nodded a greeting, and Cloud nodded back, and Jasmine sighed, crossing her arms and tapping her nails against the glass table.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Zack said, pressing a few buttons on the keyboard. The screens on the other side of the room lit up with an image of a fierce looking man with a hooked nose. His eyes were yellow, his mouth twisted in a snarl.

"This is Noah Cerulean, now known as 'Lightning Hawk'. He's the most famous, or infamous, trader on the black market and is one of the richest men in the world. He's number six on our most wanted list for the assassination of several politicians and Midgar Intel agents, as I'm sure you'll all know the story of Asuka Hideaki and James Orson."

He paused, and Cloud remembered the two young agents who had been sent to track down Cerulean- and had ended up dead a few months later, in the most brutal fashion after being tortured horrifically for months.

"We have received a tip from a source that he will be moving to a new location in exactly three days. He is apparently on his way to a new property he purchased a few months ago in Costa De Sol… and we hope to overtake him take over the house; so when he does move in, he will be open and vulnerable." Zack checked his notes. "So, I am assigning everyone at this table a role in this mission. Here are your mission statements, and make sure that you know everything on that inside out before you arrive. The airship will arrive in half an hour, and Cid and Barret will kit everyone up with the necessary gear."

Everyone filed out of the room, except for Cloud and Zack.

"Are you coming?" Cloud asked Zack.

"I can't." Zack sighed.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever." He smirked. "See you on the airship."

He left the briefing room, and Zack smiled. It was a kind of ritual of theirs- even if one was not allowed on a mission, the other had to go as backup; even if it was off the record.


End file.
